Cute And Scary
by julietlumos
Summary: Cedric Diggory, triwizard champion, one of the best Hufflepuffs (in everyone's opinion), and girl charmer extraordinaire, has to face his greatest challenge yet. Asking the cute (but scary) Hermione Granger to the Yule Ball.


I just really like the idea of Cedric Diggory and Hermione Granger together (second to her and Draco and Fred). Anyway, here's a cute little thing featuring a shy Cedric.

* * *

She was cute and scary.

That what Cedric thought of Hermione Granger the first time he saw her.

Cute because of her wild hair and kind chocolate eyes, and scary because she wasn't afraid of _anyone._

Cedric admired that, and as he watched the fourth year read a large tome, he couldn't help but wish he could be like her.

Sure, he was smart, handsome, and kind; and he possessed a certain kind of courage, but ultimately, he had nothing on Hermione.

And because of that, he was reluctant to ask her the one thing he'd wanted to since overhearing Viktor Krum talk about the Gryffindor.

Cedric Diggory wanted to ask Hermione Granger, the brightest and kindest witch in Hogwarts, to the Yule Ball.

He knew Cho wanted to go with him; hell, the fifth year Ravenclaw was practically _throwing_ herself at him every chance she got. From wide smiles to not-so-subtle loud conversations every time he passed her, it was quite obvious.

But Cedric really didn't like Cho. Everyone thought they would be… marvelous together. Between him and his mates, Cedric openly talked about how much he couldn't stand Cho Chang.

She had this weird obsession with him, and she was just too… too much for him.

But Hermione? Hermione was _perfect._

Perfect in the way she casually brushed her hair behind her ear; perfect in the way she squinted when she was reading, perfect in the way that her eyes lit up with a fiery passion when it came to a topic she held close to her heart.

Breathing deeply, Cedric decided to tap into that reservoir of courage he kept, and found his feet moving towards the brown haired witch.

He stopped shortly in front of her table, waiting for the words to come.

Hermione didn't notice him at first, too absorbed in her reading, but after two minutes and several passersby ogling at the two and whispering, she looked up.

Her eyes widened and she opened her mouth. "H-hi?"

Cedric took another deep breath and smiled. "Hi. I'm Cedric." _Idiot. She knows who you are._

Hermione continued to stare at him with those wide brown eyes and nodded. "I know. What brings you to my table?"

Cedric suddenly became very shy, looking at his feet and shuffling them. "Well… I wa- I was wondering, if you- well, if you, would... you know, like to... Go to the Yule Ball with me?"

 _Nice going Ced. Could you be any more awkward?_

Hermione's expression shifted, puzzled. "Um… what- what brought this on?"

 _Look what you've done, you've gone and blown it. She probably thinks you're weird._

 _At least she didn't decline right off the bat, though._

Cedric rubbed the back of his neck nervously, looking up at Hermione. "Well, you see, I, uh… I kinda like you, and um- well, I thought we'd be perfect together- not that- that's all I was thinking because you're really great and stuff too and I'm just rambling on no-"

Hermione stood up and leaned over the table, placing one small finger over Cedric's mouth, a smile on her face. "It's alright. I'd love to go with you."

Cedric breathed a sigh of relief, and smiled. "I'm glad."

Hermione placed a small kiss on Cedric's cheek, and he flushed a deep red.

"I'll uh, I'll leave you to your reading if you'd like." Cedric stammered, thoroughly embarrassed at himself for acting like a first year.

Hermione sat down and pat the seat next to her. "I don't mind if you stay."

Cedric's smile widened, and he hurriedly sat down next to her, almost tripping over his feet.

Hermione let out a peal of laughter, placing her hand on his.

And so Cedric Diggory sat with Hermione Granger until dinner, and at dinner, he had never been more happy in his entire life to sit at the Gryffindor table either, with Hermione by his side.


End file.
